Rain is expected to change to snow and sleet Thursday morning through Thursday evening in areas from parts of Mississippi, northern Alabama, northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee to the Southern Appalachians, northern North Carolina and Virginia.

Rogelio V. Solis / AP

A Mississippi Department of Transportation employee checks ice on this bridge in Flowood, Miss., Thursday morning.

The heaviest accumulations of snow -- 6 inches or more – were expected in the higher elevations of the Southern Appalachians.

Parts of Mississippi, northern Alabama and northern Georgia could see anything from a dusting to a few inches.

To the east of the Appalachians, 1 to 4 inches of snow with locally higher amounts possible could hit from northern North Carolina to parts of central/eastern Virginia and southern Maryland.

Some accumulating snow is possible as far north as the Washington, D.C. and Dover, Del. metro areas, which could affect the afternoon and evening commute.

This is roughly the northern fringe of potential accumulations in this region and exact amounts will be dependent on how much moisture reaches this far north.

The southern fringe of possible snow accumulations may reach as far south as Raleigh, N.C. and Greensboro, N.C.

If D.C. can officially record more than two inches of snow, it would exceed the entire total from all of last season. So far this season, only two tenths of an inch of snow has been measured.

Though snowfall with this system will be of short duration, it could also be heavy at times. Given that temperatures have been mild recently, the best chance for accumulations in the lower elevations outside the Appalachians will be on grassy and elevated surfaces. That said, heavier snowfall rates could lead to accumulations on road surfaces as well.

As the storm shifts out to sea on Thursday night, it may move close enough to the Northeast coast to bring some snow to parts of the southern New Jersey coast, eastern Long Island and far southeastern New England.